If the police in north India are dismayed by their own tales of horror and the terrible reputation they have acquired, they will perhaps find consolation in the fact that their counterparts in south India are not far behind.

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Sreedhar Pillai

November 25, 2013

ISSUE DATE: March 31, 1981

UPDATED: September 30, 2014 17:43 IST

Lolakshi (left) and the Hosakote police outpost: A harrowing experience

If the police in north India are dismayed by their own tales of horror and the terrible reputation they have acquired, they will perhaps find consolation in the fact that their counterparts in south India are not far behind. In Karnataka's Hassan district sustained denials and stonewalling by the police have managed to push under the rug gory details of an alleged gang rape on February 1, in which three policemen were allegedly involved. The victim was Lolakshi Gowda, a slim, tall and pretty 17-year-old girl, employed on a coffee plantation as a weed picker.

The illiterate and innocent Lolakshi, a villager from Kaganoor, 59 km from Hassan town, is the centre-piece in a bizarre case. It is an instance of alleged rape tagged to an unresolved and baffling murder of a 28-year-old man, reportedly of unsound mind.

This gruesome tragedy has been making waves, though spasmodically, mainly due to the efforts of a Kannada daily newspaper, Janatha Madhyama (People's Medium) in Hassan town, which lies 185 km west of Bangalore. It has been further picked up by the intrepid Lankesh Patrika, an irreverent and anti-establishment Kannada weekly in Bangalore.

Lolakshi, who belongs to the large farming community of Vokkaligas, today finds her life in shambles. Speaking haltingly of her harrowing experience in simple Kannada, Lolakshi said she and her deaf and elderly mother were dragged by a policeman during noon on February 1, to the Hosakote police outpost for "routine interrogation". Without any preliminaries, they were questioned about the death of Basavaraj, a family friend, under mysterious circumstances. His body was allegedly found at Lolakshi's residence, with a bullet wound. The police say that the gun used to kill him was found in a bush near Lolakshi's house. Villagers claim, however, that it was a case of suicide.

Traumatic Experience: When the two women denied knowledge of the circumstances leading to Basavaraj's death, they were repeatedly abused and beaten in an obvious attempt to extract a confession. When the young girl tried to stave off the heavy blows raining on her mother, she was hit continuously with heavy bamboo sticks and a hosepipe. Reduced to utter fright, Lolakshi said she was pushed down on the bare floor. Her innocence is apparent from the fact that she is unable to state that she was raped. After being held for three hours by her captors, Lolakshi was pushed out in the company of Ganesh, her neighbour, who was also being held on grounds of suspicion.

The distraught pair returned home but Lolakshi's ordeal was far from over. After about 72 hours she was ill and in great pain. She visited a local homeopath, Dr Vasudev. Too ashamed to admit the truth she gave him a different version, but unconvinced and seeing strong nail marks on her breasts, he suggested that she visit the Government Medical Hospital in Hassan. She was admitted there and was examined by three doctors, who were unanimous in their diagnosis that Lolakshi had been raped. According to one of the doctors, a psychiatrist, the girl had a nervous breakdown due to her traumatic experience.

The police have charged Lolakshi's elder brother, Rame Gowda, with murder. Rame, who was employed as a night watchman at a large coffee plantation owned by Muthiah Gowda, allegedly got the gun from his employer. According to the police Rame was having an affair with Gowri, Basavaraj's wife - a charge which Gowri, Lolakshi and the villagers stoutly deny. The police say that the gun was retrieved from the bushes by Hanumya, Rame's younger brother.

Denial: Sub Inspector A.L. Desai, Head Constable Manjiah Shetty and Constable Thimmaiah, identified by the victim as the men who raped her, said that they were innocent. Said Desai:"I have an unblemished reputation here. But a lone newspaper (Janatha Madhyama) and a powerful coffee planter (Muthiah Gowda) are trying to run me out of this town. We questioned Lolakshi about her brother's activities but never touched her."

The Police Superintendent, B.Y. Bhosle claimed that the entire episode was an obvious frame-up against the police force. Said he: "We have already conducted an inquiry into the allegation and found the charge false, baseless and vicious."

A policeman, however, wrote anonymously to the Lankesh Patrika, saying that the story of Lolakshi's rape has made "each one of us in the police force hang our heads in shame just because of the action of a handful of dissolute persons."

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